Suspicious bag shuts Tallahassee airport

BY BILL KACZORASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

Published: Tuesday, June 13, 2006 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, June 13, 2006 at 12:00 a.m.

TALLAHASSEE - A food reporter's bag containing video and audio recording equipment, honey, an oyster shell and seasoning rub was blamed for prompting officials to close Tallahassee's airport for three hours and evacuate the terminal Monday.
The configuration of the electronic gear and organic material looked suspicious when Transportation Security Administration officers viewed it through equipment used to scan carryon luggage, said Tallahassee police officer David McCranie.
"Something indicated this was not your typical bag and they pressed the alarm," McCranie said. "It's like winning the lottery but the lottery you don't want to win."
Todd Coleman, food editor for Saveur magazine, was detained but later released after the bag was removed from the terminal and a robot opened it to disclose the contents.
"I was afraid they were going to blow my bag up," Coleman said. "It would have blown my story up."
Coleman had come to Tallahassee to visit his parents, who live here, and do a story on the food of nearby Apalachicola, Florida's oyster capital. The Apalachicola area also is famous for tupelo honey that Coleman had in his bag.
The airport reopened at about 10 a.m., and all incoming and outgoing flights resumed. Coleman was released but had missed his flight. He expected to get back to New York City, where the magazine is based, about 10 hours late.
Expect Coleman's story, scheduled for the magazine's October edition, to be kicked up a notch by his airport experience.
"I started to get worried that I was going to get accused of something I didn't do - like a Hitchcock movie," Coleman said. "I almost kind of got punished for being a food writer."

TALLAHASSEE - A food reporter's bag containing video and audio recording equipment, honey, an oyster shell and seasoning rub was blamed for prompting officials to close Tallahassee's airport for three hours and evacuate the terminal Monday.<BR>
The configuration of the electronic gear and organic material looked suspicious when Transportation Security Administration officers viewed it through equipment used to scan carryon luggage, said Tallahassee police officer David McCranie.<BR>
"Something indicated this was not your typical bag and they pressed the alarm," McCranie said. "It's like winning the lottery but the lottery you don't want to win."<BR>
Todd Coleman, food editor for Saveur magazine, was detained but later released after the bag was removed from the terminal and a robot opened it to disclose the contents.<BR>
"I was afraid they were going to blow my bag up," Coleman said. "It would have blown my story up."<BR>
Coleman had come to Tallahassee to visit his parents, who live here, and do a story on the food of nearby Apalachicola, Florida's oyster capital. The Apalachicola area also is famous for tupelo honey that Coleman had in his bag.<BR>
The airport reopened at about 10 a.m., and all incoming and outgoing flights resumed. Coleman was released but had missed his flight. He expected to get back to New York City, where the magazine is based, about 10 hours late.<BR>
Expect Coleman's story, scheduled for the magazine's October edition, to be kicked up a notch by his airport experience.<BR>
"I started to get worried that I was going to get accused of something I didn't do - like a Hitchcock movie," Coleman said. "I almost kind of got punished for being a food writer."<BR>